Clinical ventilatory functions and immunological studies in bronchial asthma.

Clinical characteristics, ventilatory functions and serum immunoglobulins (IgG, IgM and IgA) were assessed in 30 asthmatic patients. Sixty per cent patients belonged to early onset group ie, had onset of disease before 30 years of age. Seasonal asthmatics formed the largest group (56.6%) followed by perennial (26.6%) and irregular (16.6%) type. On the basis of ventilatory function tests, maximum number of cases (15) had asthma of moderate severity, followed by mild (12 patients) and severe forms (3 patients). Mean serum levels (mg%) of IgG (1631.93 +/- 270.71) and IgM (233.82 +/- 86.93) were significantly elevated in asthmatics as compared to controls. Higher serum IgA levels were observed in bronchial asthma patients (257.58 +/- 81.06) as compared to controls (225.69 +/- 49.75), but this rise was not statistically significant. Duration, periodicity of asthmatic attacks and the severity had no influence on the levels of the above three mentioned immunoglobulins, but it was observed that patients who had associated other allergies and positive family history of atopic disorders exhibited higher serum IgA and IgM levels, compared to those who had no such history. This difference was however not seen in serum IgG levels.